Teaching:  Challenges of distance education and strategies for success

Class objectives:

1. To provide an overview of the issues (problems, benefits, challenges) surrounding distance education over the internet from a teacher's perspective.
2. To help students to reflect on their own perspectives and experiences regarding Internet based training and instruction.

We have two required readings for this week:

• Schrum, L., Sunjoo, H. (2002) Dimensions and Strategies for Online Success:Voices from Experienced Educators. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 6(1).
  This article reports the results of a survey of 14 online educators. 7 dimensions of successful online learning are identified and strategies of facilitating student success in online education programs are discussed.
• Hiltz , S., Turoff, M. (2002). What makes learning networks effective?, Communications of the ACM, v.45(4) .
  This article identifies a number of factors and strategies for successful teaching using Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). It also touches on the changing roles of teachers when delivering online education, including the cognitive and social aspects of their interaction with students.

For review:

• Carnevale, D.(2004). For Online Adjuncts, a Seller's Market. Chronicle of Higher Education, 50(34):A31.
• Kiernan, V. (2003). A Survey Documents Growth in Distance Education in Late 1990s. Chronicle of Higher Education, 49(48):A28.
• Library Support for Distance Learning compiled by Bernie Sloan and Sharon Stoerger

As a class assignment please post your responses to the following questions oy the Thursday of the week 9 (March 31st):

1. Which of the challenges identified in this week's readings is most significant to you as a current or future online educator, and, what are some of the strategies you currently use or may use in the future to meet the challenge?
2. Would you like to become a "virtual" professor: why and why not?

Class Slides